The participants of the Executive Study Tour in Toronto visited Telus – one of Canada’s largest telecom providers. The company offers mobile, television and home telephone service to more than 13.9 million customer connections. The group from Macedonia learned the core principles that Telus embodies in order to be a highly successful company. The company host Phillip Solakov said that Telus combines valuable offers and competitive prices in order to get closer to the customers. In terms of diversifying the sources of revenue, Telus develops an international capability by buying out smaller companies in Canada and abroad. It is one of the leaders in cloud services and Canada’s leader in internet security. Last but not least, the company is proactive in other sectors, by, for example, developing products for the healthcare industry that combine electronics and communication.

Participants of the tour were interested to know what are the most important trends at the moment that Macedonia can explore towards economic development. Mr. Solakov said: Internet of Things, Data centers and Internet and data security. These are here to stay and that the sooner companies explore the opportunities tied, the better it is. The group from Macedonia then was taken on a tour in the Telus Innovation Center where they were able to see how state of the art tech equipment is developed. Another important thing that the host wanted to communicate was philanthropy. Reaching out with philanthropic initiatives means giving back to the customers and at the same time reminding them that Telus is doing wonderful things for everyone.

Purpose Investments

The group from Macedonia met Vlad Tasevski, Vice President of Purpose Investments, at his company’s offices. The company manages investments that offer similar possibilities as hedge funds. Because hedge funds demand a very large buy-in, Purpose has developed strategies that allow almost anyone to invest. The company wanted to minimize the downside to clients and provide them daily liquidity, transparent work and low cost of management. Vlad Tasevski presented his company’s approach in customer care. He said, “Having a voice that people can understand is what differentiates us as an investment company.” Mr. Tasevski adds that investing is complicated even for people in the industry, so it is always good to have someone who can explain things in the best possible way. Purpose Investments currently has a strategic span that has brought the number of direct competitors to virtually none. When it comes to marketing and promotion, the group from Macedonia learned from the company’s Marketing Manager that Purpose doesn’t do product pitching. Instead, they have found a way how to effectively communicate through the media by doing weekly videos with the Financial post, by preparing commentary pieces but also though Social Media engagement.

Cross-Link Bridge Corp

Zoran Cocov of Cross-Link Bridge took the participants of the Executive study tour to Niagara Falls, where his company is working on a real-estate development project. The purpose of the company is to create value of real-estate by renovating and changing the use of the property. The group from Macedonia learned about the dynamic real-estate market in Canada and the United States and how investors enter that market to purchase property, develop it and then sell it at a profit.